If you've always loved Ico for its sparseness - the wind-blasted ruins, the empty space, the near total absence of an overbearing backstory - you probably had mixed emotions about this week's news that fans have datamined the game and discovered that the original script was far longer than the final cut. 115 lines of dialogue for an entire game is hardly chatty, of course, but Ico as we have it now is all about restraint, about the things that go unsaid or unexplained. Will Self has a wonderful word that's worth reappropriating for this kind of thing: under-imagined. It's not a criticism at all in this context (or in his original context), just an acknowledgement that if showing is better than telling, sometimes not showing or telling is better than both.

Ico's not the only game that we're learning more about long after the fact. Far more delightful is a recent story about Fallout 3 that suggests that, in order to create the effect of a player riding a subway train, the player was actually wearing the subway train in question. First-person viewpoints can hide an awful lot of fudging: the only thing that truly matters is what ends up on the screen, after all. We expect this trickery with cinema, where years of Behind-the-Scenes TV shows have meant that we now know that the rocks are polystyrene, the skyline is digital, and that, just out of view, the actors can see a bunch of ladders and lighting rigs and assistant directors drinking Frappuccinos. With games, it's a little different perhaps - more along the lines of the mutated spinal monstrosities that Crytek relied on to get crouch animations right for Crysis 2 - but the hidden world is still there, jury-rigged, Scotch-taped, and endearingly human.

The humanity of this stuff is what I find most fascinating: that hidden in the code you get traces of the people who made the game. It's everywhere in code, I gather: comments explaining how a thing operates, or why a thing operates in a very strange way, tacked inside everything from the stuff that controls cashpoint interfaces to the workings of an old NES cartridge. Normally we never get to see this, and that's fine. Because it means on the rare occasions we do get to see it, it makes all the more impact.

Satoru Iwata, who has passed away at the age of 55, was once seen unboxing a Wii U in a Nintendo video sporting white surgical gloves: the perfect accompaniment to a man who was gentle, self-deprecating, polite and precise. Behind the scenes, however, he was also a man who was never afraid to get his hands dirty. There's a wonderful story about him patrolling the shop floor at Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters prior to the Wii U's release, being shown the line-up for the console's impending launch in his role as the company's president. He paused on Balloon Trip Breeze, a mini-game within Nintendo Land which paid tribute to Balloon Fight, the 1984 game on which Iwata acted as programmer. Noticing something wasn't quite right with the feel of the characters as they flapped their way across the screen, he astonished everyone present as he set about fixing it - the head of the company rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck into the code.

Iwata's tenure, and the affection and respect in which he is held by developers and players alike, has been defined by this hands-on approach. Speaking to Shigesato Itoi, with whom he worked to create the SNES role-playing game Earthbound, Iwata once said he never wanted to be a mere bystander. He never was.

Born during the winter of 1959 in Sapporo, the largest city on Japan's northernmost island Hokkaido, Iwata took an early interest in electronic hardware and games, and was enduringly fascinated by the point at which the two meet. Having his first experience with games via Pong, Iwata bought an early Hewlett Packard pocket calculator and soon put it to novel use. "I think I was one of the original early adopters," he said during his 2005 GDC keynote. "But whereas some used them for mathematics, I used mine to create video games." His first game was an approximation of baseball, played out on the calculator's crude display through numbers alone. His school friends loved it.

UPDATE 11.00am: Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata has released a statement offering his own words of condolence. The full text lies below:

"Nintendo of Europe is today mourning the passing of Mr Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's Global President. It is difficult to put into words the sadness we feel at this time. Mr. Iwata was a strong leader, a unique figure in the gaming industry and an important part of Nintendo's history.

"He was a visionary in every sense of the word and we will miss him dearly. Just as Mr. Iwata challenged us to always push forward, we will ensure his legacy lives on through our ongoing work to always surprise and delight our fans. At this time our thoughts are with his family."

The actor died on Sunday at a London hospital after being treated for respiratory problems and heart failure, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Lee made his name with 1950s Hammer horror films, but he also famously played Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973) and Scaramanga in James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). More recently, Lee found a new audience after playing Saruman in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films, and Count Dooku in the last two Star Wars films.

The game includes vehicular combat and aerial dogfights as well as a new class of hero, called SuperChargers. Parents of Skylanders fans will be delighted to hear there are 20 new SuperChargers toys and 20 new vehicle toys.

You can customise your vehicles in the game with modifications and upgradeable weapons. You can also pair a SuperCharger Skylander with its signature vehicle to create a SuperCharged combination, unlocking a mod that boosts the performance of both.

Speedrunning games, i.e. the practice of completing them in the quickest time possible, has become a popular phenomenon in the industry over the last several years. And why wouldn't it? Much like watching an Olympic athlete attempt to not only best their peers, but set a new world record in the process, speedruns are enjoyable to witness just to marvel at the sheer skill and dedication that goes into them. They've become a new form of performance art. Like a circus, only with less animal cruelty.

But are speedruns actually enjoyable to play? Logic would suggest that they're not. It requires and insane amount of patience, practice, dedication and sacrifice to pull off these awe-inspiring acts. And yet, many speedrunners do enjoy the thrill of chasing that record, no matter how difficult it is to achieve. Some folks climb Mount Everest. Others speed run.

"I don't think there's a speedrunner on earth who would say that they don't enjoy it," says Speedrunner Andrew "Goatrope" Halabourda, who's raced through Halo on and off for the past 13 years - and briefly set a record doing it. "I know that we get that perception because a lot of people get angry on stream, but that's just passionate people... I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it."

Capcom has partnered with amusement park company Six Flags to make one of its roller coasters Monster Hunter-themed.

At California's Six Flags Magic Mountain, the roller coaster Goliath will bear a Monster Hunter theme from 28th March through 10th August.

So what does this entail, exactly? Probably not a lot. According to Capcom, Goliath will be "custom-skinned to resemble the game's flagship Gore Magala monster." Furthermore, there will be Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate demo kiosks at the nearby Cyber Cafe.

Speaking to Time Magazine, Iwata said, “As of now, I have nothing new to share with you in regard to the use of our IPs for any TV shows or films, but I can at least confirm that the article in question is not based on correct information."

ORIGINAL STORY 07/02/2015 2.20am: Nintendo is reportedly working with Netflix on a live-action TV series based on The Legend of Zelda.

They don't make 'em like they used to. With Xbox 360's abysmal failure rate and PS3s often falling victim to the yellow light of death, it's a strange that so many consoles from the 90s are still running just fine. To test these vintage video game platforms' durability, the folks at Wired decided to experiment with which ones could survive a 15 foot drop.

Ranging from Super Nintendo to PS3, 12 consoles were selected for this grueling test of valor.

Nintendo designed many of its recent 3D Mario levels using the four-part structure of Chinese poetry and Japanese comics.

The technique was originally detailed in a Gamasutra interview with Super Mario 3D Land director Koichi Hayashida, and can be seen in action in journalist Mark Brown's latest Game Maker's Toolkit video.

Hayashida explained how he refined his level design process over the course of his career at Nintendo, starting with Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii.

Dead Rising: Watchtower, the live-action film based on Capcom's popular open-world zombie series, is coming to Xbox consoles a week early, Xbox Live director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has announced.

Anyone with the Crackle app will be able to start watching the movie on 20th March. Those without a Microsoft console will have to wait until 27th March.

It's an odd exclusive given that Crackle is Sony Pictures Television's streaming service, but there you have it. Dead Rising: Watchtower stars funnyman Rob Riggle along with Jesse Metcalfe, Meghan Ory, Dennis Haysbert, Keegan Connor and Virginia Madsen, who was once nominated for an Academy Award for her work in Sideways.

La-Mulana, a game that can only be described as "Fez meets Dark Souls," is coming to Vita on 4th March (or 3rd March in North America) in a spruced up edition entitled La-Mulana EX.

The colossal metroidvania that combines expansive, obtuse puzzles with excessively deadly enemies was initially released in 2005 as a free PC game in Japan, but was remade into a commercial product where it came to WiiWare in 2012 and Steam in 2013. Now Vita players will get a chance to fail at developer Nigoro's fiendishly difficult expedition.

Port developer Pygmy Studio worked with Nigoro on this enhanced edition that makes the game a tad more accessible without making it noticeably easier. As detailed on the PlayStation Blog, there's now a Monster Bestiary to check out details on the creatures you come across, and some puzzles have been slightly adjusted to make more sense.

Renegade Kid's sci-fi metroidvania Xeodrifter is coming to PS4 and Vita this April via a new publishing deal with Gambitious Digital Entertainment.

Released on 3DS and PC in December, Xeodrifter merges the minimalist 2D platforming of Renegade Kid's earlier Mutant Mudds with the more ambitious open-world exploration of Metroid.

To further celebrate Xeodrifter's branching out, Gambitious just released the game's Special Edition on Steam. This adds an in-depth development diary and soundtrack by chiptune artists Roth Sothy, Matthew Gambrell and Brian Altano.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-02-25-renegade-kids-metroidvania-xeodrifter-is-coming-to-ps4-and-vita
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1739144Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:00:00 +0000New Rock Band is in development for PS4 and Xbox One - report

A new Rock Band game is in development for PS4 and Xbox One, according to a report from Bloomberg.

While credited to "a person familiar with the plan," the Bloomberg report corroborates recent speculation that Harmonix is planning to relaunch the series as it just started adding new DLC to Rock Band 3 after a 21 month Hiatus.

January saw new songs from Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold and Foo Fighters, while just this Tuesday Harmonix added Tenacious D's Rize Of The Fenix and Weezer's Back to the Shack to the playlist.

Someone has defeated Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! while wearing a blindfold.

Real life Jedi Jack Wedge accomplished this astounding feat this weekend. He's the first person in recorded history to conquer the titular boxer - one of gaming's most difficult bosses - without the aid of his vision.

Last year a man going by the name of Sinister1 managed to shock the world by simply getting to Tyson blindfolded during charity drive Awesome Games Done Quick. He said at the start of that fight that he wouldn't be able to best the final boss as "his delays between when he throws his punches are completely random."

Metroid has always been a mesh of different DNA: a little of Zelda's exploration mixed in with the acrobatics of Mario and then tied together with some good old fashioned plasma ballistics. Even taking into account that heritage, there was nothing quite like Metroid Prime when it launched in 2002. Coming up to 13 years later, and despite a couple of high quality sequels and almost a decade of increasingly fevered begging from fans, there's been nothing like it ever since.

This is a unique game, and certainly a very special one. Returning to it today - which is now easier than ever thanks to the recent release of Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii U's Virtual Console - it's clear that the years haven't dulled its atmosphere or undermined its achievements. If anything, they're brought sharper into focus: as an updating of a 2D classic into three dimensions, the original Prime has earned itself a place alongside Super Mario 64 as one of Nintendo's greats. Alongside the excellent Super Metroid, it's also a high watermark for the space-faring series.

There's much shared between those two games, of course, but nothing's ever merely borrowed in Metroid Prime. Instead it's thoughtfully retooled, reshaped and placed in an all-new template that's every bit as intoxicating as that of the classics it succeeds.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-01-22-watch-the-dead-rising-films-debut-trailer
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1732527Thu, 22 Jan 2015 23:54:00 +0000Club Nintendo to close later this year

Nintendo has announced plans to close its Club Nintendo scheme in the coming months. The rewards system, formerly known as Nintendo VIP 24:7, began life in 2002 but will be phased out in three stages from April 1st this year.

As of that date, points registration cards will no longer be included with retail products. From April 20th, you'll no longer be able to register digital titles downloaded from the eShop. The programme formally closes for good on September 30th, at which point you'll no longer be able to sign up to the service, log in to your account, admire your Stars, or exchange them for any goods.

Nintendo has plans to introduce a replacement programme, but details are scarce. All we do know is that those who sign up to the new scheme will be able to download Flipnote Studio 3D to their 3DS for free.

Rockstar's mischievous scholastic satire Bully (or Canis Canem Edit, as it was originally called upon its European release) came out in 2006 and many have clamoured for a remake to it. It's unclear if that will ever happen, but graphic design student Wesley Arthur has given us some idea of how that might look by painstakingly recreating its boy's dormitory in Unreal Engine 4.

"The level closely replicates the original layout in order to maximise its recognisability, but each asset has been carefully redesigned and built from scratch," Arthur said in the notes accompanying a YouTube video demonstrating his work.

Arthur is even creating an art book detailing the techniques he used to create this impressive contemporary take on Rockstar's eight year old adventure. Here's an excerpt below:

Big-name actors lending their vocal talents and motion-capture expertise to games are commonplace nowadays. But Captain America's Chris Evans made headlines last week for showing off his guns in a TV spot for China's free-to-play Call of Duty: Online, despite having no ties to the actual game itself.

He's not the only actor to have a starring role in a gaming commerical, however. Before they were famous - and, in some cases, afterwards - these 11 celebrities cut their teeth on a series of delightfully kitsch advertisements for gaming consoles and products. The blink-and-you miss-it cameo from alien sibling duo Zig and Zag may well make your day, and that's before the flying motorbike scene even gets a look-in. Look, it'll make more sense if you just watch. Probably.

UPDATE: I'm told last week Destiny's RRP was cut by £10, which is likely the reason for the surge in sales, rather than the release of The Dark Below DLC. I've amended the headline.

ORIGINAL STORY: The release of Destiny downloadable content The Dark Below has sparked a surge in sales of the game in the UK.

Sales of Bungie's first-person shooter shot up 29 per cent last week, sending the game up seven places from 16th to ninth in Chart-Track's all-formats chart. The Dark Below expansion went on sale on Tuesday, 9th December.

An actor hired by Nintendo to play Donkey Kong at an LA launch event for Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D last year is suing Nintendo after suffering from a serious heart condition allegedly brought on by the unsafe work conditions he was subject to.

As reported by the LA Times, the actor, Parker Mills, was denied breaks and not provided with the required ice packs to cool him down as he portrayed the famous gorilla in the smoldering heat.

The lawsuit also stated that Mills was supposed to receive oversight from an ambassador at Nintendo hired to escort the costumed actor, but the company failed to follow through on this.

Today is Tom Bramwell's last day at Eurogamer. The former editor-in-chief leaves after nearly 15 years at the company. We're all sad to see him go, but wish him well for the future, whatever it may hold.

During his time at Eurogamer, Tom reviewed countless video games, interviewed hundreds of developers and publishers, and even penned the odd column. He led the team as we travelled across the world, reporting on the likes of GDC, E3, Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show. He was the driving force behind Eurogamer's editorial direction, raising standards while setting the agenda. Oh, and he hired me, which, obviously, was his smartest move.

So, after so many years spent grilling the video game industry, we thought it would be fun to turn the tables on Tom and see how he'd like the hot seat. Why is he leaving Eurogamer? Has he ever been offered cash for a review score? And, of course, do you eat Doritos? Let's not pull any punches - after all, as we'd often say to each other as we'd head off to report on some event, "happy hunting."

Retro City Rampage's spruced up remake, Retro City Rampage: DX, premiered earlier this year on 3DS and now it's due next week on PS4, PS3, Vita and Wii, developer Brian Provinciano has announced.

The PlayStation versions will offer Cross-Buy support across all three Sony platforms where it will debut on 11th November in North America and the following day in Europe. The WiiWare port will follow on the 13th.

The PC, Mac and Xbox 360 versions have yet to be given an exact date, but Provinciano noted that they've gone gold and should hopefully be out next week as well.

When THQ when kaput last year its assets were auctioned off to the highest bidder with Darksiders and Red Faction sold to Nordic Games. Now the Vienna-based publisher has acquired another one of THQ's lost properties with the whimsical platforming series de Blob.

"de Blob is just a great and truly unique franchise," said Nordic Games' business & product development director Reinhard Pollice. "We are excited about what the future holds for this polychromatic extravaganza as the newest addition to our portfolio. We will evaluate opportunities with the existing games, as well as potential sequels."

Sudeikis (30 Rock, Horrible Bosses) will star as the iconic red bird, Red, a "bird with a temper problem"; Gad (Frozen, Wish I was Here) plays a swift bird named Chuck; and McBride (This is the End, Pineapple Express) fills out the main trio as the abrasive Bomb.

Hader (The Skeleton Twins, Saturday Night Live) will play a villainous hog, while Rudolph (Bridesmaids, The Maya Rudolph Show) is some woman named Matilda, and Dinklage is the Mighty Eagle.

Official figures from Chart-Track show EA's annual behemoth sold around as many copies as FIFA 14 did during its launch week in 2013.

Unlike FIFA 14, FIFA 15 launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at the same time as previous generation platforms, so to create a direct comparison Chart-Track has added in the launch figures for FIFA 14 on PS4 and Xbox One to the figures for its first launch on last generation consoles (FIFA 14 on PS4 and Xbox One launched alongside the consoles last November).

Citizens of Marin County, California can turn in their violent video games to the local government in exchange for ice cream.

Ben & Jerry's ice cream, to be exact.

As reported by the Marin Independent Journal, this is part of a new initiative by Marin County district attorney Ed Berberian. Berberian joined forces with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream along with the Center for Domestic Peace to set up a drive in which locals can turn in both video games and toy guns to receive some sweet, sweet dairy treats.

Many considered Patrick Stewart's classy response to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge the video to end all Ice Bucket Challenge videos, but the games industry still has some unfinished business with the fundraiser to cure Lou Gerhig's Disease.

The rule was simple: Anyone at Nintendo of America who donated towards the ALS Association got a raffle ticket to execute the dunking of their bosses. As you can see, many relished in making it a slow, painful process.

Disney Infinity's Marvel-based sequel is coming next month on every console except for the Wii, which has since been left in the dust by its successor, the Wii U. As a result, Disney is letting players download the original Disney Infinity for free on the Wii U eShop, where its base and figurines are backwards compatible with the Wii game.

Of course, you can't play the game without the physical base and at least one Infinity figure, so if you don't already have the starter kit this won't help you much. But for those who built up a collection on Nintendo's massively successful console and want to continue adding to that collection on Nintendo's massively unsuccessful console, you'll now have that option as Disney Infinity 2.0 is backwards compatible with the first game's base and figures.

The original Disney Infinity launched on Wii U in addition to the Wii, so this free version will contain all of the console-specific content from that including GamePad integration for the Toy Box online mode.

Every Sunday we offer up an article from our archive, either for you to discover for the first time or to get acquainted with all over again. This week we present Rich Stanton's look at sex in games, originally published in 2012.

If you only play one game today, make it Sepe's Cumshot. In this you control a disembodied hand and stimulate the penis of a man called Sepe. The poor thing starts off limp, but stroke it a little and see what happens. As you work it more furiously, Sepe's cock engorges with blood, and his body hulks up. He's loving it! You can finish him off yourself.

Sepe's Cumshot is a funny game - and a big part of that is how your wrist is moving like it would during male masturbation. By that critical measure of how closely the mechanics and theme intertwine, Sepe's Cumshot is probably the best sex game ever made. But you could hardly call the competition stiff.

UPDATE 06/08/2014 9.20pm: GameStop has confirmed the new pricing structure outlined in yesterday's leaked documents. The retailer sent Eurogamer the following statement on the matter:

“GameStop made the decision to simplify the trade-in pricing structure that is part of our buy-sell-trade program based on positive feedback we have received from customers and store managers. We anticipate this change to be well-received by our customers as they experience the added value we are now offering them for their pre-owned video game and consumer electronic products.

"Last year, GameStop issued over $1.2 billion of trade credits with more than 70 per cent of that applied to the purchase of new products. We want to provide our customers the best value for their trade and we believe customers will be pleased with this new simplified pricing.”